Annabeth's Quest for Percy
by IzzyPJAC
Summary: We all know the Lost Hero. Percy was missing, and Piper, Leo, and Jason go on a quest to free Hera (Yuck). But what about Annabeth? Her boyfriend had just gone missing, and she was miserable. This story is about her quests with Piper, her sister, Maya, and Rachel to find Percy.
1. Meeting With the Best Guy EVER

**Hi, everyone! This is my very first FanFic, and, I guess you'll understand from my user, that I love Percy Jackson! So, like every other sane person in this world, I've been dying to know what happened exactly during the time Percy dissapeared. So... Yeah. This is it. Please comment, and I totally hope you love it!**

**Annabeth's Quest**

**Chapter One**

Liz stares at me enviously. I don't blame her. _I'm the jealous one_. She doesn't have to keep a magic knife stuffed her pillow, like I do.

"Tell me again… Why are you leaving this early?" Liz questions me for the umpteenth time. Geez, these people who obviously have no idea of what I'm capable of, love questioning me. I glance up from packing my duffel.

"Uh… Like I told you. My boyfriend, uh, Percy, is on a break at his school." Why, no, he is not. I am lying to Liz, so don't tell her. Actually, he is on break from saving the world. Same difference to mortals, right?

"Where does he go? Why does he get out early? Why do you get out early?" Liz says furiously. I've known since they met, that Liz is smitten with Percy. I groan. I don't like this game, I hate it. I don't like coming this close to my life with a mortal.

"He goes to Goode High, and uh, yeah, he has this…" What? "…Meeting on Long Island to discuss, uh, something for college. He's totally the type of person who'd get into college at sixteen." The day that is true, is the day I willing dive into Tartarus. "I get to go with him, because when my dad enrolled me, he made the school give me a bit looser schedules and attendance. You know, I'm ADHD and dyslexic." Good enough. I hear Liz cough and say something along the lines of 'Sophomore honors student.' In truth, I just leave, and manipulate the Mist. I mean, who is allowed to just leave school? Didn't think so.

"Why can't I get out for break early to hang out with my boyfriend? You know, the one that I don't have?" Liz sighs, and glances at the picture of Percy and I from when we went to Paris (Long story), as I carefully pack it away. "He's adorable." Liz goes red. "I'm so sorry! That must be weird, your room mate saying that, though… I'd assume you get that all the time. I hope he gets into his college," Liz grins at me. I smile back and zip up my duffel. I swing it onto my shoulder, and look at Liz. Finally, finally, I get to see Percy. It's been two weeks of Liz going on and on about him. And she's met him _once._

"Merry Christmas!" I tell her, as I leave in a hurry. I check my watch. 4:45 PM. Ten minutes early. Perfect.

"Thanks. You too." She sits down at her desk, and gets out her homework.

I walk into the hallway, and start down the stairs, when I realize something; my knife! I turn on my heels, and rush back into the dorm. Liz looks at me questioningly. She tugs her earphones out of her ears, and the music I hear sounds like something Rachel would enjoy.

"Did you forget something?" Not my knife, I think snidely.

"Oh, I forgot my water bottle. I think it rolled under my pillow when I knocked it off my nightstand."

"Here, lemme get it," Liz offers and walks to my bare bed.

"NO!" I shriek so loudly as I lunge onto my bed, that the students across the hallway could hear. "I mean, no thanks. You get back to your essay." Thank the gods I don't have to write it. It's an essay for our History class. Guess what? It's an essay that goes with our Greek unit, that our teacher thought would be a fun before-break assignment. What Do You Think It Was Like To Be A Demigod? Gee, I have no idea what it feels like. Maybe it's a lot of fun, and we get to save the world, and kick some monster butt, have a party, toast marshmallows, and get dumped into a lake with your boyfriend. And then, after all that, we have to burn our best friends, who turned out to be traitors, then became nice, then died. Of course, you'd also have a new Great Prophecy to think about, and count how many ways it could kill you. All hypothetical, right?

Liz shrugs and sits back down, and I seize my lifeline, AKA, my knife. I stuff it into my bag, and rush down the stairs. I don't look at the hallway, because it reminds of the Princess Andromeda's halls. Before Luke's homies screwed them up, that is. I stop at the door, wave at the guard, who knows me very well. The eye on his arm winks at me. He lets me out without a pass. I walk down the block, zipping up my North Face. The snow falls down lightly around me. I stop at our special meeting point where his mom always drops him off. Of course, we both drive, but neither of us own a car. It would explode faster than you can say _remember Gabe's car? _After about five minutes, I see Sally's car rumbling down the road. She parked it on the side of the road, and she and Percy got out. I smile at them. They both get to me at the same time, and both kiss me on either cheek. I swear to all the gods, they are the best Mother-Son team. Sally beams at me.

"Well, I can't keep you waiting," She watches us. Percy hugs her, and Sally wraps her arms around him. She kisses his cheek, and gets back into her car. For some reason, it feels too final. Like they're not going to see each other for a long time. The feeling makes me shiver, but I manage to brush it off. Percy turns to me a hugs me. I wrap my arms around him. We kiss properly, without anyone watching. I wish I could freeze time, and stay like this forever. He looks at me and kisses my cheek. We finally break apart, and he whistles really loudly. A taxicab man drives over to us, but we wave him off. He turns his car around, looking confused. He mutters something about dumb kids, and finally, a big shadow flies over us and lands.

"Hey, Blackjack!" I exclaim. The pegasus whinnies at me. "Percy, what _exactly_ did he just say?" I can never trust what Percy and Blackjack talk about. I swear, once the horse looked at me, then reared up, and came down super fast. Isn't that what horses do when they're scared? I threaten them with one look. I am so dangerous. Percy turns red.

"He, uh, just said that he missed you," He says truthfully. Oh, well. Maybe the horse does like me.

"Missed you too, bud." I dig into my pocket, and produce a sugar cube. He laps it up, and kneels down. We climb on with Percy in front of me, and I wrap my arms around him. Blackjack leaps into the air, and I lean my head on Percy's shoulder. One of his hands reaches back, and grabs mine.

"Blackjack, take us to Camp."

**So, I'm not sure whether that's too long or short, and if you have any ideas, PLEASE tell me. Also, I have read several PJ Fanfics lately, and it seems like people enjoy Percabeth moments. I do too, so I'll try to do them well. Thanks again for reading! Please comment! IzzyPJAC**


	2. Sword Fighting is SO Romantic, No?

**Hey, Guys! I know, I know, this chapter is a bit boring... But I need it, cuz I gotta get to when Percy goes missing, right? Anyhow, please take the time to read this, and please recommend this story to other people! **

"Perce, how's school going?" I ask. He laughs and looks back at me. He shrugs.

"Nothing much. Paul is keeping me out of suspension. Mom is practically giving away my homework answers. You?"

"Uh, well, Liz, my room mate, is kinda driving me crazy. She almost saw my knife this morning." Guilty as charged, but she'd probably see it as a water bottle.

"Uh, Annabeth, why did she almost see your knife?" Percy asks me in a joking voice. Blackjack whinnies, and Percy strokes his neck.

"I may have almost forgotten it under my pillow, ten minutes ago. I almost killed myself when I ran back into the dorm to get it. Then she offered to pick it up for me." Percy laughs, and that completes the perfect moment. We ride in the peaceful silence over our city. We talk a bit, about school, camp, how awesome we are. After about fifteen minutes, Percy says, "Here we are. Wow, I will never, ever get used to this view." Camp is beautiful. Rolling hills, cute little cabins, the sparkling lake. My home. Percy lands Blackjack nearby the stables, and we dismount. Percy holds my hand as we lead his pegasus to his stall. I feed him the last of my sugar cubes, and Percy and I decide to go to the sword arena. His favorite place to practice, and now mine as well.

"Ready to get your _podex_ whipped, Annabeth style?" I taunt him as we clash our weapons, sword against knife. He dodges my lunge, which wasn't going to cause any _permanent _damage, anyway. "Nope, but that was close." Percy smiles at me, which momentarily caused me to zone out. He whirls around me, and tries to attack me from the back. I'm way too smart to not see that one coming, but it's true, Percy's better at sword fighting than me. We twirl around each other, me taunting Percy, and him laughing like a crazy person. There are a few people watching us (because everyone likes us), but I choose to ignore their 'helpful' advice that they scream at us. Percy side steps and lunges. I block his move, but I immediately understand something. There's only one way to win now. I get myself to face Percy, and smile at him. He grins at me, but before he can do anything, I lean forward, and kiss him. He kisses me back, and holds his sword limp at his side. _Sucker, _I think. In one move, I kick his sword away, and break away from him, with my knife at his neck. "Holy Aphrodite, Annabeth! That was _so _cruel!" Percy complains, but he hugs me anyway.

"Sucks to suck, Seaweed Brain." I pick Riptide up, and playfully swing it at him. We hold hands and walk to the side of the arena, and watch Katie and some new kid, Ronan, who's a Hermes kid, fight. Katie goes easy on Ronan (who's only nine), but that makes him mad. Gods, little kids are _so_ violent. Katie wins by a long shot though, by making vines grow around his feet. She's really asking for those chocolate easter bunnies again.

"Oh… We still have to put away our bags. See you in fifteen at the lake?" I ask. Percy nods, and kisses me before jogging off to the Poseidon cabin, where he lives alone. I pick up my duffel, and I go off to my cabin, the children of Athena's home.

"So… I'm guessing Percy's been good to you?" My brother, Malcolm, grins at me as I walk into my cabin. I flush, and look around. Not many children of Athena stayed this winter. There's me, Malcolm, and a couple of girls in our little library. Several guys are staring at a complicated blueprint, and trying to build a toothpick model. "Yeah… He is. Oh, please don't look at me that way." Malcolm wipes his look of dissaprovement off his face. I walk over to my bunk, and dump my bag onto it. I check my computer to see if there is a new blog post on my favorite blog, Rockstar Ronan. Nope. I draw my attention away from the computer, and to my brother. It has just been so hard for my siblings, and mother, to get used to the fact that I don't care about the stupid rivalry between Poseidon and Athena. I am dating Percy, and there's nothing anyone can do to make me stop. So there. "So, Malcolm, why are you here?" I ask casually.

"Because I'm Percy Jackson looking for a kissy-kissy from Annabeth!" He puckers his lips at me with his eyes closed. So unlike Percy. I punch him between his eyes, hard, but not hard enough to _hurt _hurt him. I think. He stumbles backwards, and walks away, still mimicking Percy. _"Oh, Annabeth! Quit punching me, all I wanted was a kiss! Please come back, don't break up with me! No-o-o! Don't le-e-eave!"_

"Oh, ha ha. Whatever, I'm leaving," I say, already half way out the door. I stroll down to the lake, thinking about how lucky I am. I have the best boyfriend ever, he never, ever forgets to email me at night, takes me to Paris (Long story, don't have time to tell you), and would never leave me. Take that, Malcolm. Percy is waiting for me at the lake, and when he sees me, opens his arms. I jog into him, and he gives me the best Percy hug ever. I look up at him, and his big sea green eyes mesmerize me. "So… We have, uh… half an hour till dinner. Watcha wanna do?" He smiles at me.

"Hang out with you." Anything is fine, as long as I'm with him, even going to the Underworld. **A/N Ironic, right? **

"Well, we could just walk around…," He grabs my hand, and we head to the beach.

"Percy, please, please, please, never leave me," These thoughts have gone through my head all day. _What if he left? I can't live without him. I love him. Wait. Why am I thinking this? _Those pesky thoughts, interrupting my perfect Wednesday. Percy laughs, and swings my hand. "Why in Tartarus would I do that, Annabeth?" I take a deep breath.

"I don't know. Honestly. I just wanted to say that 'cuz these thoughts have been circling through my head. Please just promise." I look at him in the eye, pleadingly. He smiles at me.

"Of course. I would never, ever jus leave. Promise." He kissed me, and hugged me tight. We walked down the beach in silence for a while, holding hands, just enjoying the feeling of being with each other. These moments are the best, but they _always_ get interrupted. Like now, the stupid dinner bell. Percy hears it, sighs, and looks at me. "I guess we have to eat dinner," I say, feeling disappointed.

We each go to our tables, which is _so_ annoying. Before we part, though, he gives me a quick kiss on the cheek, right were he always does. My table and Percy's table are _so _far apart. I haven't hated these rules more than now. Why can't I just sit with anyone I want? Percy and I smile at each other every once in a while, just to feel connected. Now I know how all the other couples at Camp feel. Dinner is normal, my table does arm wrestling, battle strategies, and other fun stuff I love, but right now, I just want to be with Percy. I know how lucky I am to be with him, and am grateful for every second spent with him. Malcolm, the person that knows me best in my cabin, asks me what was wrong when he beat me at arm wrestling. I laugh lightly. "Oh, nothing." Malcolm raises a brow at me seriously. "Okay, fine. It's this weird feeling… I don't know, I feel like Percy is going away. Funny, huh?" Malcolm shakes his head.

"Hey, sis, I know Percy. He wouldn't leave you even if, say, it would save the freaking world if he left you. He's really into you," He says disapprovingly. That's a lot coming from him, since he doesn't exactly like Percy. I give him a smile, and right then, someone taps my shoulder. "Hey," Percy says. "Sorry I interrupted you. Just wanted to say hi. Hi." Percy quickly kisses me, ignoring all the whispers, and the sudden awkward silence. He pulls away when Chiron clears his throat loudly. Percy gives him a lopsided grin, but heads back to his table for one. I roll my eyes at Chiron. He looks at me, as if to say, _You aren't in charge. _I get back to beating the crap out of my sister, Maya's arm.

**Thanks for reading! Please tell me if you have an idea, I'd love to hear it. If you want any more Percabeth action, and have an idea, please tell me quickly, cuz he's about to go away...:( I'm sad, too. Rock on, IzzyPJAC**


	3. The World's Worst Dryad

**Hey, guys! Sorry this chapter is so short. Um... Special thanks to KLoveMe, she helped me with a Percabeth scene, one of the last ones *Tear*. Oh, I switched to T rated because of the kissing, not anything ****_bad_****. This chapter contains very, very mild cursing. (Thanks to The World's Worst Dryad) Thanks so much for reading, please comment, and tell your friends about this, if you think they'll like it. **

After dinner, I make Percy work on hi archery 'skills'. You know, the ones that are off in La-La Land. But, since it's me asking him, we head to the shooting range. Just to show off, I shoot an arrow, that makes a bull's eye. Percy shrugs, and picks up his bow. "Take this, Wise Girl." He shoots the arrow, and he actually hits the… wait for it… tree root. Oops. An angry looking Dryad melts out of the tree, pulls out the arrow, and tosses it away. Then she sees Percy. But Percy hadn't even waited for the arrow to find its way to the target (Or in his case, anywhere). He just turns around a second after it left the bow, so he doesn't see Juniper's cousin coming up. He is about to kiss me, when the Dryad punches him in the back, making him crumple. "Humph. Jackson, you _really _have to stop that crap. I swear, that's the third time you've done it. Annabeth, honestly. There's so many awesome guys out there, and you pick Jackson?"

"Oh, Macy, I'm sorry! Did Percy destroy anything vital in your tree?" I ask guiltily, ignoring her comment about Percy and me.

"Oh, why no, nothing important, like my trunk or anything. Thanks Demeter for that! You know, because for humans, it doesn't hurt to get shot in your (Insert your choice of swear word here) toe. Yes, it hurts like hell to get shot in the root. Thank you for your consideration." And with that, the meanest Dryad in the whole Camp walked away, after stepping on Percy, and flipping him off.

"Hey! Only _I_ get to maim Percy!" I shout at her, helping Percy up, careful to not hurt him. It takes everything in me, not to laugh.

"Thanks. Wow, compared to Juniper, she's a devil," Percy commented after kissing me. He rubs his sore back, and tells me that we should leave before she comes back. For once, he's right. He grabs my hand, and we head to the amphitheater for the campfire singalong.

We sing a bunch of the Camp's favorites, and Apollo's kids play their lutes. Chiron makes a couple announcement, but I'm not paying attention. I know, totally not me. But I am just in Percabeth (As the other campers call us) World. I'm just absorbed in him, holding hands with him, talking softly to him. Our conversation kind of goes like this:

Percy: Annabeth, you're so awesome, I'm the luckiest demigod ever.

Me: Aww, that's so sweet. Me too.

(Insert hug and long kiss here)

Me: We really pissed Macy off today.

Percy: Yeah. It was really funny. You handled her really well. And… what was that about you being aloud to hurt me?

Me: Oh, I was just telling her a bunch of crap. But, it's true. Causing you bodily harm _is_ entertaining.

Percy: Hey! You're super pretty and occasionally sweet, but real-

He is interrupted by me kissing him, hard. He wraps his arms around me, and we stay like that for, I don't know, a long time. I wish we could have stayed like that longer, but someone taps my shoulder. I pull away, irritated, and suddenly, Percy and I aren't in our invisible little bubble anymore. OK, maybe we weren't talking all that softly. The amphitheater is dead silent, and everyone is watching us. We don't say anything, but I can tell by Percy's face, that he is about to die from holding fits of laughter in him. Actually, me too. He gives my hand a little squeeze. "Uh…" says Ronan, the little kid from the sword arena. "That's kinda inappropriate for kids, like me." Everyone twelve and up starts cracking up. "What? It's true…" He says defensively.

"Well, if you two are done, we'd like to do one more song before bed." Will Solace begins to lead another singalong, and even though I'm red as heck, I sing with them.

"Oh, my gods, that was _so_ embarrassing," I say, after the campfire. Percy and I took a little detour on our way back to the cabins, so now we're at our lake, the one we started dating at. We sit down at the dock, with no shoes on. Our feet silently swim in the water, a pretty dangerous thing to do. Not that we care or anything. Percy and I are kissing, hugging, talking, all alone. Stuff like that happened at the amphitheater was funny, not not uncommon, as there are many, many teenage couples here. Most of them have terrible fates. Ours won't. I won't let _anything _happen to Percy. Like ever. Of course, we are so caught up together, that we don't even freaking notice, that several Naiads are approaching us, super silently. One leaps out of the water, grabs my arm, and pulls me under. I'm smart enough to gasp right before I go under, but I also know that Percy is coming in five… four… three… two… _splash._

A bunch of threats, one 'coming up for air, 'cuz I don't have any', and a few promises later, Percy makes a bubble at the bottom of the lake for us, which is how we got together. Isn't that how most couples get together? By jumping into the lake, and kissing for a_ long_ time, while your friends are waiting for you? No? Wow. _Anyway, _yeah, that's when we began dating, August 18, Percy's birthday. So now, four months later, and we're back here. So little has happened since then. Of course, we are dating, but since August, we've been constant, so we're not changing. I haven't really had to run for my life, at least not that many times. Monsters aren't as big of a threat since the Titan War. Life has been good. Percy and I stay underwater for a few minutes, mostly teasing the Naiads. Hey, we're only sixteen, it's not like we're doing… You know what? I'm done with that subject. You get it, or you don't get it. So we're there underwater, until a Naiads _pops _the bubble. How unkind of her. Thrashing around like an idiot, I almost panic because I loose all my air yelling at her. But, unfortunately, we are completely submerged, so she doesn't hear me. Before I drown, Percy grabs my waist and hauls me up to the surface, where I break into fits of coughing, which turn into laughing, which end up with him kissing me.

"Good night, Annabeth, see you tomorrow," Percy says, pulling away from our kiss outside my cabin. I hug him one last time, and for some reason, start to feel panicky inside.

"Percy, sleep well. I love you," I whisper into his ear. He tells me that he does too, and jogs off to his cabin. I start shivering, and for some reason, almost start crying. Then I tell myself, _Annabeth, what in Hades is wrong? You jus had the best day ever. He's the best boyfriend ever. That's the final line. Now, go to freaking bed. _I obey myself, and quietly sneak into my cabin, tiptoeing, so I won't wake my siblings. I silently get ready for bed, and fall asleep.

**I'm so sorry if you want more Percabeth, I know I do, but that's the last of it. So, yeah, now the story can really start! Please comment, and if you really wanted more Percabeth stuff (Nothing innapropriate) and I can use dreams. Thanks again for reading, and PLEASE share this story with friends, I share good stories with my friends. That reminds me, KLoveMe has a really great story called Thalia's Quest. Please check it out. She also has Forget Me Not (Tiger's Curse), and Nico's Choice. Thanks again. Rock on- IzzyPJAC**


	4. Gone: Kidnapped, Quest, or Dead?

**This is the chapter of which Annabeth realizes a few things. He's gone. And he could be anywhere.**

As I sleep, spiders of all shapes and sizes take the pegasus' place at camp. Chiron makes all of the children of Athena ride them everywhere. I start sobbing, because my spider bucks me off, and starts attacking me. Then, Percy is there, dressed in armor. He battles the beast, and kills it. When I try to kiss him in thanks, he pulls away, and says, "Ewww… Why in Hades' royal underpants would I kiss you, when there's girls like _Rachel _here?" Suddenly Rachel, my best friend, pops into view. She's in a red dress, and she's twisted her hair up in a bun. She is really pretty, that's probably why Percy grabs her, and starts kissing her. Then, Rachel starts oozing mist, and says in a dreamy voice, "So long Perceus Jackson. Annabeth, say bye-bye to him." And Percy goes _pop._ He's gone.

I wake up in cold sweat, with my whole cabin up and staring at me. I realize that tears are pouring down my face, and that I'd been screaming. "Uhhh… Well, I'm sorry. Nightmare," I say awkwardly. These kids understand what it's like, sleeping in a world of terror. They look at me sympathetically, and Malcolm says, "Annabeth, you okay? It seemed worse than usual last night."

"I'm fine," I say shakily, but feeling better by the second. "Really. Okay, get ready for the day." Everyone changes in the little concealed nooks we have that are specifically for changing in. I Make my bed, grab my Camp bag pack it with my laptop, magic Yankees cap, chap-stick, sweat shirt, and cell phone. I strap my knife to my thigh, and lead my campers out the door.

As usual, my cabin is first to breakfast, so we sit down, and start our day. I put eggs, bacon, and fruit onto my plate, and sit next to my youngest sibling, eight year old Maya, the one who loves arm wrestling so much. She's my favorite sibling, mostly because she really like Percy. And she's a lot like me. She has curly blonde hair, a fierce 'tude, and a passion for fighting. The other cabins come soon, and breakfast turns into the usual, but hectic morning I so love. But…. As I scan the crowd…. No Percy. I frown, and stand up. Still no Percy. "What's wrong?" asks Maya, giving me an adorable grin. "Uh, Maya, do you see Percy?" I ask, starting to get a bit annoyed. That lazy-pants overslept _again. _

"Percy… No. Annabeth?" Maya says, tugging at my shirt.

"Yeah?" I ask, a bit distracted. Where the hell is he?

"Maybe Percy is sword fighting. Practicing for you!" She is so cute.

"You think? We'll see," I tell Maya, just because I don't have a better idea. So I take her hand, and we leave without any notice.

"I don't think he's here," Maya says as we look at the arena. No Percy. Crap. "Crap," She says simply.

"Where'd you here that word?" I ask, slightly appalled.

"You. Malcolm. Percy. Katie, Clarisse, Will, Chris, Drew,-"

"Okay, got it." I make a mental note to watch even minor language around her. I turn my attention to that ridiculous boyfriend of mine. Where is he? "Let's check his Cabin. Come on, race you." So I take off, sprinting across the Camp, with her straddling behind me. I whiz by the hills, the Lake, and all the Cabins, hoping to see him. But no. Now I know that he's definitely in his Cabin. I beat Maya by a landslide, so I wait outside, to tell her something. When she comes up, I say, "Stay here. Let me yell at him for scaring us, and when I'm done, you can come in, capiche?"

"Yes." She nods, and sits down on the grass.

I push open the unlocked door, which is weird, but he's on the top of my list of people that I know that would forget to do that, so I ignore it. I step inside, and take in the salty breeze that comes with this place. "Percy, get your sorry butt out of here, and to breakfast! Now!" I try to sound harsh, but I don't succeed. Instead, I start giggling. I stop when no one replies. I turn the corner slowly to his bed. It's empty, and done. I feel the blood drain out of my face. "Percy! PERCY! PERCY! Where are you?!" I shout, hoping for an answer. He doesn't reply, or sneak up on me. I know that this place is deserted. I start to feel my head spin, and suddenly, I am sure of one thing. He isn't at Camp, I can feel it. It's just like how I knew that Luke's fall off a cliff didn't kill him. My Percy is gone. Gone. And I also know that he didn't want to leave. Those words spin around my head making me feel woozy. I collapse onto Percy's bed, trying to steady myself. Instead, I start crying like a baby, uncontrollable sobs shaking me from my head to my toes. I lay down in the terrible realization that he's _gone. _It feels like forever, me lying on Percy's empty bed. I don't even think about how to search for him, like I should. I just cry. Eventually, several lifetimes later, Maya comes in, and starts taking to me. I don't even know what. I just hear bits and pieces, of her saying that we should search the woods, then Sally's, contact his dad. All the things I should be suggesting. "No… He's… Gone…" I choke out. With it come more tears.

"I'll go get Chiron," She says, running out of the door. _Great, _I think weakly. _Now the whole Camp will want to come see why Annabeth's crying like a baby. How many campers can fit intros little Cabin?_

Clarisse is the first person to come in. She immediately sees me all broken down, and sits down on the bunk. She too, starts talking softly to me, "We'll find him, it'll be okay, don't worry."

I sit up for the first time. I find the energy to look at her in the eye. "No… No, it won't be okay." I wipe the tears out of my eyes. I sniffle, but almost start crying again.

"Hey, hey. It's gonna be okay. You'll see." Clarisse hugs me, and I know that she really wants to help. I shrug miserably. "Listen. I know that you're under the impression that he left you. That's. Not. True. _We _see the way you two look at each other. _We _know that you have something really special. Maybe he just had something important to do. Maybe his mom needed help. He's okay. Please don't jump to conclusions." Suddenly, I feel silly. _Of course, _I think. _He had to leave with Nico to swim in the Styx. He left Camp without permission with me to go to the Sea of Monsters. And countless other times, like when he left Camp to rescue me. This time isn't any different. _I nod, already feeling better. Those instincts in my brain are A) Filled with too many thoughts, or B) I'm right, and everyone else is wrong. I go for A. I stand up, and Chiron leads Clarisse, Maya, and I to the Big House.

We agree that Iris-Messaging would work well, but we have no idea where he could be. Maya tries: "_Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, except my offering… PERCY JACKSON AT CAMP HALF BLOOD!" _Needless to say, it didn't work. We tried endless combinations. I suggested that we search the woods. Chiron told me that was impossible, what with the braze dragon being loose in there. I argue with him for fifteen minutes, before he finally agreed, and sent several Hephestus kids, despite my begging to go. We called his mom. Here's our conversation:

Me: Sally! Please, please tell me Percy's with you!

Sally: What?! He's with you, at Camp!

Me: No, he's not. He didn't come up for breakfast, so I went to his Cabin. He was gone. We searched Camp. He's just… gone.

Sally: (Insert crying) No. No. Annabeth, he _will _be back soon. Don't worry. I have to go. PAUL!

By now, I feel as I did when I first saw that he was gone. The Hephestus kids come back. When I look at them hopefully, they just shake their heads sadly. I take out my laptop and email Percy. He doesn't reply. He _always _replies. Now, I know that I was right. Percy's gone. He may have been kidnapped, could have ran away, and he could be _dead._

**Thanks for reading, please review, and tell your friends. I want to see how many more views I get while I'm at school. Thanks again!**


	5. Sally's Meeting With Death Yeah, caps D

**Hey, I'm sorry I haven't been able to post in a couple days. This chapter is kinda short and one part will be TOTALLY confusing to most of you. I'll explain at the bottom. PLEASE COMMENT! It's not like I won't post if there aren't any comments, but I'd really love the support. It's not that hard. Please. Read now.**

**Chapter 5**

Sally calls me up, begging for me to come and visit tomorrow, and tell her everything. Other than that, I spend the day writing a list. My list is filled with ways to find him.

Email

Iris Message

Pray to every single frickin' god out there

Talk to the nature spirits

Wait for a sign

Impressive, huh? I lay back down on my bed, and contemplate my list. It's all the obvious, and I _will _see Percy again. Even if… even if he's dead. I will see that amazing guy again, no matter what it takes. These last few hours, I've done okay. At first, when I first knew he was gone, I fell apart. But now, I'm as close to okay as I've been today. I have sent a dozen emails, to Grover, Sally, Paul, Percy, Dad, my step-mom, Mother, the list goes on. I've listed names of nature spirits, friends, enemies, and basically anyone who could be related to Percy's kidnap. Then I remember. Oh, my gods, I forgot to tell my _best friend! _Rachel! Crap, she'll want to hear about this. I look around my deserted cabin; all my siblings are training. I didn't have the heart to go today. I slip my phone out of my pocket, and dial Rachel's number.

"Hello?" asks a perky voice on the other end. I compose myself the best I can, but I start to feel shaky.

"Rachel, it's me, Annabeth. List-"

"What's wrong?!" Rachel interrupts. She can tell that something's wrong. I sigh, and feel my eyes burn.

"It's Percy. No, wait. He disappeared. I don't know where he is. He was gone this morning." Rachel gasps, and curses in Greek.

"That dream. I had one, and Percy, he like, vanished in a cloud of smoke. I thought it was just me dreaming, but…," I hear Rachel's voice crack. I know that she cares about Percy, but not in _that _way. She's our new Oracle. No dating. Ever. Whee-hee! Oops. Did I really just say that? I mean, that's too bad. "I'm going to be there in three days. Hang tight. I gotta go. We will find him." Rachel hangs up, but I feel hopeful. Rachel will be here soon. Percy will too, hopefully.

I'd like to say that when my cabin went to bed, I went to sleep, too. Nope. Here I am 3:30 AM, on my laptop, crying my eyes out. For some reason, after my nightly prayers to the gods, for Percy to come back, I started crying, and haven't been able to sleep. I know that he's alive. I can sense that. He was kidnapped. I think. But he's gone. No other ways to reach him. I sigh, and try to wipe away my tears. No use; they keep regenerating. I open my laptop, to check on Rockstar Ronan, the blog I follow. I read the new post. My heart stops when I read the first line, and I start sobbing. Teddy died. I mean, I knew he would, but it seems just as real as Percy's disappearance, and it makes me feel worse. How will that family survive without baby Teddy? I curse cancer with the worst thoughts I can think in Greek, English, Latin, and several other languages I know rainbow words from. How could he die?! **A/N: Ok, I know most of you are confused about that. KLoveMe, I know you're not, and probably either wanting to cry about Teddy, or laughing at me. Sorry for it. I will explain that whole bit at the bottom A/N. Please continue.** I keep sobbing on my bed, listening to music on my iPod. The two worst possible songs come on, one after the other, both by Taylor Swift. Ronan, and then Red. Ronan, for obvious reasons, it's just a sad song. Red, the part that said, "Losing him was blue like I've never known/ Missing him was dark gray all alone/ Forgetting him was like, trying to know somebody you never met/ But loving him was red." I mean, I do know that Percy just disappeared. But I'm also not stupid. If I couldn't reach him today, I'm not seeing him for a long, long time. I already miss him so much. These four things do a merry-go-round in my head: Percy, Teddy's death, Ronan, Red, Percy, Teddy, Ronan, Red. Eventually, sleep overcomes my resistance, but I wake up at 3:40 AM. Grand total of ten minutes of sleep. Amazing. I try to go back to sleep, so I'm not exhausted at Sally's tomorrow. It's no use.

After a lot of not knowing what to do for the next few hours, I go to the beach, and watch the tide. This is the place where every once in a while, Percy and I snuck down to in the middle of the night, for a couple hours. It's peaceful, and reminds me of Percy. "Percy," I say aloud. "I know you can't hear me, but I'm gonna say this anyway: I love you. I miss you. Please come back to me. For so many years, you were my battle buddy, but now, you're that and so much more. Gods forbid we ever have to break up, I would never, ever get over you. But now you're gone, and I'm here, without my best friend. My boyfriend. Please," I sob. "Come back." I sit down, and cry into my arms. It's actually a wonder that the harpies didn't see me. Not that I'm complaining. Eventually, I see the sky getting brighter, so I sprint back to my cabin, and slip in, before anyone notices I was gone. "Up and at 'em!" I shout, flicking the lights on. Thank the gods, I got here just in time. I'm going to be strong today, for Sally and Paul. Probably whatever I feel, feels a lot better than what Sally and Paul are feeling now, though that's hard to believe. I happen to have read that losing your child is worse than losing your spouse, parents, or siblings. It's the worst thing imaginable. _Anywho, _I act like I'm fine. But these kids are my brothers and sisters. They know me too well. "Annabeth, I know what's wrong, but what can I do to help you?" Maya asks me sweetly. She smiles angelically at me, making my heart melt.

"Wanna sword fight after breakfast?" I ask her. She knows that me and Percy loved doing that, and she nods.

After breakfast, and a long, long one-on-one sword fighting class with Maya, I decide to go to Sally's house. Feeling too tired to take taxis and buses, I go to the stalls, and take Blackjack for a spin. At first he cocks his big head at me, like, _What the heck is this girl doing? _But, after a couple sugar cubes, he seems okay with me. "Blackjack," I say softly, hoping he understands. "We need to get to Sally's and Paul's apartment. Think you can do that?" Blackjack snorts at me. I can only hope that means, _Of course. Think I'm stupid, or something? Hey… Where's the Boss? _Okay, I don't speak Horse, but I'm getting good at reading his expressions. "Shh," I whisper, stroking his nose. "Percy's went missing. We're gonna find him, but we need to visit Sally first. 'K?" Blackjack almost bucks when he hears my words. Still, he lets me open his stall, and climb onto him. He gallops out of the stables, and up into the air. I love the feeling of riding him, it's just like freedom from everything, up in the air. Blackjack goes extra fast, and our ride is over in half an hour. I dismount, and he leaps back up into the air, to wait for me. I take a deep breath and ring the Sally's apartment doorbell. I hear a buzz, and I open the door and run up the stairs, skipping three steps at a time. When I reach her floor, I sprint down the hallway, and she's standing there, waiting for me. She looks like she's had a meeting with Death, you know, Death with a capital D. Large shadows are under her eyes, like me, from lack of sleep. Her usually bright eyes that change color are dark blue and glazed over, but not in a creepy, possessed way. Just… glazed looking. At first, we just stare at each other, then, simultaneously, we embrace each other and start crying.

"Cocoa? Tea? Coffee?" Sally asks me. Just to be polite, I choose cocoa. Sally quickly makes it, and tells me to tell the story. Paul comes in, looking really worried. He sits down next to Sally and takes her hand as I tell the story. "… And then, I'm like, 'Percy! Please come out of your cabin! Now, or else I'll make you! When he didn't, I told Maya to stay outside, while I went in." The two adults get this horrified look on their face, like I'm crazy. Well… "Hey! It's not _my _fault! I closed my eyes. So… yeah. He just wasn't there. We searched the woods, tried to contact him, contacted anyone who might be useful. Rachel's coming in a couple of days." I take slow breaths, trying really hard not to cry. Sally lost it somewhere in the sword arena.

"So… he… could b-be… _anywhere?"_ Sally cries. Paul hugs her tight with one arm, knowing how she feels. He really likes Percy.

"Well… yeah. I guess. We don't know," I say uncertainly, wishing I had Clarisse or Maya here. They always make me feel stronger, but not even close to how Percy has always made her feel.

"He… could be d-dead?" Sally stutters. I sigh, and try not to think about that.

"No. He's not dead," I say, trying to convince her. Well, after thinking for a couple seconds, I realize I was convincing myself. Just having to think like that makes me want to kill for a mortal life. I would. Maybe. It depends. "I'll bring your son back. Remember when you made me promise you that I'd keep him safe? And I told you that I didn't know, that that was a really big job. It was, still is, always will be. But I'll keep honoring that promise." Sally gives me a watery smile, and almost laughs. I check the time on the kitchen clock. "Oh, my gods! I'm so sorry, I was supposed to meet with Grover, like five minutes ago!" I yelp, remembering that he emailed me late last night, saying that he'd be at Camp to talk to me.

"Then you'd better get going," Paul says, getting my jacket from the closet. I drain my mug, zip my jacket on, hug Percy's parents goodbye, and sprint down the stairs. When I get outside, I mimic Percy's taxicab whistle, and Blackjack comes.

He glides across the sky, as silent as night, and I cry the whole way. Jeezum, Percy's like, my new fatal flaw. I am so overcome with worry, that I would probably be taken down in a battle right now. I'd better start controlling my emoes now, or else I'll be in serious trouble soon. When we get there, I hurry up, and put Blackjack in his stall. Then, I sprint out of the stables, past the forge, the cabins, towards the Lake, and almost crash into Grover. He grabs my shoulders to make me slow down. "Gods, Annabeth, I'm so sorry! Don't worry, we will find Percy!" He says seriously as we sit down on the dock. Those are the exact same words I told Sally, right before I left. I look at Grover hopelessly, and bite my lip. "Annabeth, I don't have that much time, but please listen. Try to be on the lookout for the next couple days, but wait here. I think a sign will come. One always comes. If you don't get a sign, like, a dream or something, in a week, _then, _you can do something without any proof of anything. But please, just wait. I know you well enough that you want to search every single square inch of the world for Percy. But please, the first week, please wait here." I take in his words, my mind dissecting them for anything useful, when I realize something I just considered: He's right. He's completely, utterly right. I can't just go out looking for him, without even knowing if he's alive. I mean, I _can, _but I shouldn't I also believe that someone will give me a sign. I look at Grover casually. "You think so?" I say nicely. "You know, I think you're right. I will. But only for a week." Grover beams at me. "Thank you Annabeth. It's the right thing to do. I gotta go, I'm really sorry. Well… see you. Tell me if I can help with Percy." He stands up, and trots away, in the direction of the woods. Probably to see Juniper. For a second, I envy him so much, I want to… never mind. I don't anymore. Instead, I stay at the dock, in the exact place I was two days ago… with Percy. Now I know exactly why I wanted time to freeze forever right then. Because of this.

**PLEASE TAKE A MO' TO READ**

**Okayyy, like I promised, I'll explain the whole Teddy thing. And Rockstar Ronan thing. PLEASE READ THIS. So, we all know who T Swizzle is, right? Taylor Swift, you know, country/pop singer. I don't really need or want or care for your opinion about her. And we all know what cancer is, right? It rips families apart, kills innocent people. Sometimes, it kills BABIES. TODDLERS. KIDS. TEENS. There was one little 3 year old boy in particular, Ronan Thompson. He never hurt a fly in his whole FOUR YEARS OF LIFE. So, he got Neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer that is a nerve and brain cancer. It is a very silent killer, and by the time he was diagnosed, it was Stage 4 Cancer. Very, very bad. His mama, Maya Thompson, (Yes I know, I have a character named Ronan, and a character named Maya, you got a prob with that?) wrote a blog about his battle with cancer. One of the many people it brought attention to, was Taylor Swift. Ronan fought 8 long months, from August 2010- May 9, 2011. He died 3 days before his fourth birthday. His mom is still writing the blog. After he died, Taylor wrote a song for him, 'Ronan.' It is the most beautiful song. Last December, a little boy Maya knew, Teddy, lost his battle with Neuroblastoma. I made Annabeth a blog reader, just to add to her pain. I know, that was really cruel, but I needed more shizzle to her sadness. So, to anyone that wants to know more, here is the website: .com PLease, just look at it. That one look could change a little kid's life someday. If you have any more questions, ask me. Rock on, IzzyPJAC**


	6. Coming Percy! Or Coming, Jaspeo?

**'K, so in this chapter, The Lost Hero begins. Annabeth goes to pick up our favorite trio of new demigods, thinking Percy will be there. You all know how this chapter ends, sadly. And the next one. Oh, well. I realized that I need to disclaim: I do not own these books, no matter how cool that'd be. So, enjoy!**

Grover's words had lots of power over me. The next day, I wake up to a day, filled with Iris messages. I do some research on minor gods, ones that might be able to help me find him. So far, zilch. I've been doing a pretty good job of hiding my tears around others, and people actually seem to think that I'm not as worried. Idiots. Sally checks in in the morning, asking for information. I tell her that I haven't found anything. Malcolm presents the idea of sending out all the pegasi to look for Percy. I tell him to let them out, but to put Blackjack in charge. He leaves the cabin, and I stay on my laptop for the rest of the day.

When we go to bed, I expect to get about a second of sleep… for the third night in a row. I surprise myself by falling asleep after like, ten minutes, which is unusual for me, even on normal days. Suddenly, a dream appears in my brain. In my dream, I'm standing in this field, filled with long, blue and green feathers. I follow a trail of them, curios of what or where they lead to, and I see a woman with her back turned to me. She wears a dress that is green and blue, and the skirt has real peacock feathers sewed on. Her long, dark hair is loose, cascading down her back. "Hello? Excuse me, who are you?" I call out. She turns, and smiles brilliantly at me. I know her. I _hate _her. "Annabeth, darling, so glad you could come see me! How are you?" Hera, the Goddess of Making Sure Annabeth's Life is as Crappy as Possible beams at me.

"What are you doing? Do you know where Percy is?" I can't help myself. She nods her head at me.

"Find the one with the missing shoe. Then, you'll find out what happened to the one you love most. He is at the Grand Canyon skywalk."

My vision goes red with rage. "What do you mean?! Did you take him? How could you!" I shriek at her. "I thought that the gods went silent! Now you just show up, telling me what to do? You hate me!" Hera tuts at me pitifully.

"Annabeth, Annabeth, I _do _hate you. And yes, I do have something to do with Perceus. Now, now," Hera chides. "Before you start cursing at me, _wake up._" She waves her hand, and my eyes open, her words still fresh in my mind. And finally, _finally, _there are two firsts: Grover was right about something, and I have a plan to get Percy back. "Cabin Six, up!" I exclaim, and for the first time in three days, seven hours, two minutes, and-I check my watch- seventeen seconds, I smile.

"Annabeth, what's up? Percy Jackson is missing. You're supposed to be all sullen, remember?" Sean, my big brother reminds me. I smile blatantly at him.

"No, Sean. I found him. I had this vision from Hera-"

"Don't you hate her?"

"Yes, but, my point is, she told me to find the guy with one shoe on the Grand Canyon skywalk, and he'll lead me to Percy!" I shout this out, and my whole cabin hears me. For a second, they went quiet, and then all started talking at once. "Percy's coming back!-"

"I know!"

"She had a vision-"

"Wonder if it's legit-" Aww, they care about Percy. Who knew? Not me.

"… And she told me to find the guy with one shoe on the skywalk, and he'll lead me to Percy!" I announce to a very excited camp of demigods at breakfast. They all start talking, about how great it'll be, to not only have Percy back, but also me. It's true, these past few days, my cabin's been on their own, and my absence has almost been as noticeable as Percy's. Chiron beams at me, happier than I've seen him in weeks. I almost cannot believe that Percy's coming back- just like that. One of the camp's best equestrians, Butch (of Iris), instantly agreed to take me to pick him up. Percy and Butch are pretty good friends, even though Butch has only been here since August. We called four of our pegasi back, to pull the flying chariot- which reminds me- "HEY! Will!" Will Solace turns around. "Yeah, Annabeth?" He says, grinning.

"I need to borrow the chariot!" I say, not really asking. More of a heads up for when he notices it's gone.

"Sure. What eves," He shrugs, turning back to his conversation with his girlfriend, Katie Gardner. Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around, and Juniper, the juniper is standing there. She hugs me. "I am so happy that Percy's coming back today! Remember when Grover disappeared?" I do. It was especially hard on Juniper, Percy, and I. I nod. " Well yeah. I'm just so glad you don't have to go through that for _that _long. Three days is terrible. Two months…" She shrugs, and walks away. Butch approaches me.

"Ready to go?" He asks. I take a deep breath.

"Yeah. Let's go get Percy back." We say good bye to everyone, and they all wish us '_Kalí̱ týchi̱!_' which means, good luck in Greek.

Butch and I race across he fields, to the stables. While he gets the pegasi ready, I find the flying chariot. It has its own little closet, but the door is concealed behind a bail of hay. I push the hay aside, open the door, and pull the chariot out. I push it onto the grass, where Butch leads the pegasi onto. Then I remember someone. "Hey, Butch, uh, could I quickly send an Iris message?" I say, already pulling out a large golden Drachma out of my pocket. He nods briefly, and I walk away several meters. I take a water bottle and one of those Disney World fans (Yeah, I keep a rainbow maker with me, don't you?), and simultaneously squirt water and turn on the fan, creating a pretty little rainbow. I fling the Drachma into the air, and say, "_O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering_. Thalia Grace, in the Colorado Mountains!" The air shimmers, and I see a girl with her head turned away from me. "Thalia!" I shout. She jumps with a start, and turns around, and looks at me apprehensively. "Are you okay? We're searching for Percy, like, right now! Lady Artemis is very concerned. She found a link between this wolf pack, and Percy's disappearance, but has been pretty vague about it. So, you got any new info?" Thalia says urgently. Her short, spiky, black hair is gathered up in a ponytail, and she's wearing her favorite Black Veil Brides tee shirt. I absolutely hate that band, but Thalia obviously sees something in them that I don't. I don't say anything about them though, I have much larger concerns for now. My love life. "No!" I exclaim. "I found Percy! I had a vision from Hera, telling me that there's this guy with one shoe, and he'll lead me to Percy!" I jump up and down with excitement. Thalia beams, and almost hugs me, then remembers that we're IM-ing. "That's so great! Wait… Isn't Rachel coming today?" She asks.

"Oh, yeah. Well, it'll be good to see her anyway. Well… I'd better get going," I say, about to wave through the, but Thalia starts talking again.

"Wait- When you find Percy, please, please, please, don't go all weak, into his arms, judo flip him or something. Punish him for leaving." She grins at me, and waves away our connection. I laugh, and realize that she's right. Judo flip him I will. I start to look forward to that…

We're soaring super high in the sky, above the clouds, where the air is still and cold. Butch steers the horses, and I rant on and on about how excited I am. I mean, yeah, he just left, but I miss him too much to pretend otherwise. He just grins at me, and after about thirty seconds of flying way up high, Butch flicks the reins, and I have about half a second to sit down, before my vision goes black, and my head starts spinning like a top. When it stops, I see this huge area of land, that is riddled with so many lines, and I totally understand why it's called the Grand Canyon. I look around for a skywalk, and see one about a mile ahead, where these weird storm clouds are brewing. One sign that a demigod is in the immediate area: A small circle of dark clouds, low, with a thirty foot radius. I see three people standing on it, looking extremely tired, like they'd just seen some monsters. Butch says, "Annabeth, those kids… let's see them." He steers the chariot towards them, and I get even more excited. One of them turns to face us, and jumps in shock. He beckons his two buddies over to him, and they all stare at us. Butch lands the chariot, and I jump out immediately. I pull out my knife and run to them. I stare at their faces. There's two guys and a girl, all three maybe a bit younger than me (Ha ha. I'm a poet and I didn't even- you know what? Care). The girl has a medium complexion,and long, dark hair, with little braids running down it. She stares at me wearily, with big, kaleidoscope eyes that have brown, green, and blue in them. One of the guys is Hispanic, with a mischievous grin, like he might take my knife, and the other guy is tall, and fair. Not one of them has black hair, sea green eyes, and a sarcastic smile, that combine into one amazing boyfriend.

"Where is he?" I ask, staring at the blond boy. He looks totally confused.

"Where's who?" He asks. This is an unacceptable answer. Then, I remember who these kids are. How could I forget? They're Gleeson Hedge's kids, he's their protector. These kids go to some Wilderness School for crazy children. "What about Gleeson? Where's is your protector, Gleeson Hedge?" The Hispanic kid coughs.

"He was taken by some… tornado things?"

"_Venti_," The blond buy says. "Storm spirits." Did he just call them by their Roman name?

"You mean _Anemoi Thuellai_? That's the Greek term. Who are you, and what happened?" I demand. Where in Tartarus is Percy? He introduces himself as Jason, and says that his friends' name are Piper and Leo. He explains that some wind monsters came, and attacked them. They'd beaten the things, but the monsters took Gleeson with them, away. He doesn't mention Percy. At. All. "No, no, no! She told me he'd be here! She told me if I came here, I'd find the answer." This isn't right!

"Annabeth,"Butch grunts. "Check it out." I follow his line of gaze, straight down to Jason's shoe. Except… There isn't any shoe. His foot's bare. Well, I mean, his other foot has a shoe, but… "The guy with one shoe," Butch confirms my train of thought. "He's the answer." I hear myself tell Butch something, then something else, about how I was tricked by Hera. We take Piper, Leo, and Jason (Who are obviously demigods), back to the chariot. But all I do is fight down a bunch of tears and emotion that are aching to come out. I think I knew before. That Percy wouldn't be here.

**Too long, too short? And, is there a limit to how long these stories can be? Cuz, I gotta know. I've had 552 hits in twelve days. I think someone has the time to tell me how many chapters are allowed. Thanks for reading, please comment/favorite/follow! Rock on, IzzyPJAC**


	7. We Almost Kill Our New Recruits

**Hey, everyone! Thanks so much for reading this, I hope you like it! I don't own anything, except my copy of The Lost Hero, which I'm using, and my old laptop. Since this chapter is that scene where Annabeth's showing Piper around, I try to skip over some of the dialogue between them, just to shorten it. Plus, most of you already know what happens in this chapter. Read on!**

**Chapter 7**

The girl, Piper, looks out into the sky. She looks really depressed, and keeps glancing at Jason, who looks kind of uncomfortable. Leo, though, is ecstatic. "This is so cool!" He shouts, spitting a feather out of his mouth. "Where are we going?" I take the liberty to answer his question.

"A safe place. The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood." Piper's eyes widen with shock.

"Half-Blood? Is that some kind of bad joke?" She says, with a very insulted look on her face.

"She means we're demigods. Half god, half mortal," Jason says, though I don't know how he knows that. I go on to tell them about the gods, and how each of us have one human parent, and one godly one. Suddenly, lightening flashes, and one of the wheels catches on fire. Crap… Will's going to be angry. We catch sight of our friends, the Anemoi Thuellai. Butch flicks the reigns, and my vision blurs. When it comes back, we're at home. With no reality hits me again, and again, each time more horrid than the last. Percy's gone. But I still put on my child of Athena face. The brave one. I look down and scream; the chariot is going down. "The lake!" I yell. "Aim for the lake!" Butch nods and tries to steer towards the lake. Then- _BOOM. _Water explodes all around us, as we sink into the Lake. Luckily, the Pegasi were freed right before we crashed.

I let myself sink to the bottom for a second, when I realize, _Percy isn't here to bubble me. He hasn't been here for three days, five hours, and fifty two minutes._ The realization is like some twisted roller coaster ride, and it just plummeted like, a hundred feet down. I swim back up, using all my strength to take myself up. All I want to do is hide at the bottom of the Lake, like we used to do when our friends got too annoying. Instead, my head breaks the water's surface, and I take Clarisse's hand, and she hauls me up. I look and see that everyone else was saved by the Naiads, except me. Of course. They don't like me anymore, because of my dating wave at me like, _Oh, there you are. Didn't see you! Oh, how's _Percy _doing? _Those girls are without a doubt, my _best _friends. I stick my tongue out at them, and they sneer, and return to the murky depths of their Lake. Malcolm hands me a towel, and a hopeful expression, like I was hiding Percy. No, if he were here, I would have stuck his hand to mine with Guerrilla Glue. And possibly his mouth. I shake my head at Malcolm slowly, and his big grey eyes stare at me and I read his expression perfectly. _Annabeth, I'm so sorry. Don't. Give. Up. _I nod at my brother, and Will Solace runs up to me angrily. "Annabeth!" He pushes people around, out of his way. "I said you could borrow the chariot, not DESTROY it!"

I sigh. "Will, I'm sorry. I'll get it fixed, I promise." He scowls at his chariot, and the next thing I hear (though everyone is talking to Jason, Piper, and Leo, I don't really answer them), is Will. "Any sign of Percy?" The crowd goes silent, everyone holding there breath.

"No," I admit, angry and sad all over again. Suddenly Drew, the new head counselor for the Aphrodite cabin, comes out of the crowd. Drew is South Korean (Though I suspect sometimes that she's North Korean, by the way she acts), tall, actually really pretty, with way too much makeup, and hair similar to mine, except hers is actually dark. No, I'm not jeallie. I mean, sure, she occasionally flirts with Percy to annoy me, but he always tells her, _Thanks… but no. I, um, am hanging out with Annabeth, so please, go get your own boyfriend_. The only thing I want from her is her shade of hair. Even though everyone knows she's 100% stupid, and 60% just plain mean, no one calls her blonde. Ever. And yes, it gets to me. I make a mistake, suddenly I'm a dumb blonde. Drew sizes up the three new demigods. She completely ignores Leo, curls a lip at Piper, who I know will hate Drew with every bit of her now broken heart, and smiles warmly at Jason, who, I'm not sure how he's here. Really, Coach Hedge only told us of two demigods, a Latino one, and a Native looking girl. No totally blonde kids in his report.

"Well," Drew says finally. "I hope they're worth the trouble." Leo raises his eyebrows in insult.

"Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?" He asks sarcastically.

"No kidding. How about some answers before you start judging us- like, what is this place, why are we here, and how long do we have to stay?" Jason asks, slightly irritated. _Your home, you're you, and forever. _I so want to say that, but I know that'd be pretty mean. But… It's completely true. Instead, I go for, "Jason, I promise we'll answer your questions. And Drew," I frown at her. "All demigods are worth saving. But I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped." Suddenly Drew and Piper start arguing, and when she steps forward to smack the princess in her royal face, I say, "Piper, stop." She does, with a disappointed look on her face. I don't blame her. I continue to give directions, and tell Piper that I'll give her a tour myself. Leo is to go with Will, Jason with-

"Absolutely," Drew says quickly, lacing her arm into Jason's, making Piper fume. Oh, man, this is going to be hard, telling her. Right before we disperse, someone points at Leo. People gasp. Piper and I turn, and we see a flaming hammer above his head. Holy Hephestus… "That," I say. "Is claiming."

"What'd I do?" Leo yelps, and looks into the Lake. He gasps. "His my hair on fire?" He asks, trying to get rid of the flame.

"This can't be good," Butch mutters almost inaudibly. I tell him to shut up, and that Leo's just been claimed by Hephestus, the god of Fire. Jason makes a remark about how that's Vulcan, and we all turn our heads. "Jason," I say carefully, "how did you know that?" he mutters that he isn't sure. I make a mental note to talk to him later, but for now, take Piper away.

I have to admit, I don't put much effort in the tour. "So, at Camp, we have a lot of things…. You know, we have pegasi you can ride…. Archery is always a favorite… and that-" I say, pointing to the pavilion, "-is where we eat." Piper nods and looks around, like she wanted to know more. "And, most kids, like, just stay the summer… but, we do have year round campers, but most of them are really dangerous, like Clarisse. Percy," I falter at his name, "and I go to different schools in New York City, so we're close to here, just in case, 'cuz our parents are pretty powerful. A lot of people just joined the camp since August, 'cause the gods made a promise to pay better attention to their kids." Piper is oddly quiet, probably because she can tell I'm really disappointed. I'm actually disappointed that her godly parent hasn't claimed her yet. I mean, she's younger than me, but not much. Fifteen, I believe. Suddenly, it strikes me that Rachel could very possibly be waiting for me in her cave. I start leading Piper in that direction. We're talking, but really, all I'm doing is spewing words out, thinking solely about my Percy.

We start talking about demigod reputations. "Right. It's because we're hard wired for battle. Restless, impulsive-we don't fit in with regular kids. You should hear how much trouble Percy-" My heart almost stops as I say his name. "Anyway, demigods usually get a bad rep. How'd you get in trouble?" I ask. She looks at me for a second, almost untrusting, before she tells me.

"I steal stuff," she begins. "Well, not really _steal…_" She gives me the impression that there's a lot I don't know about her. How could you steal stuff without _stealing _it?

"Is your family poor?" I ask. She laughs bitterly for a second, then goes back to straight face.

"Not even. I did it for…I don't know why. For attention, I guess. My dad never had time for me unless I got in trouble." Oh. Okay. That's me, except my dad didn't used to _like _me.

"I can relate. But you said you don't really steal? What do you mean?" She's is still totally confusing me, plus I'm curious, plus I need to get my head off… Of course, that's impossible.

"Well… nobody ever believes me," she begins, looking at a rock on the ground. "The police, the teachers- even people I took stuff from: they're so embarrassed, they'll deny what happened. But the truth is, I don't steal anything. I just ask people for things." She goes on a little more, about how anyone, anywhere would give something to her. And she's telling the absolute truth. But her parent is still a mystery. When she finishes, I say, "Interesting. If your dad were the god, I'd say you were a child a Hermes, god of thieves. He can be pretty convincing. But your dad is mortal…"

"Very," Piper confirms. Something's strange about her, I can see it in her eyes. They're all… guarded, and really dismal looking. And it can't be just about Jason. Oh, the fun she'll have on the top of the hill. Piper watches me, and starts looking uncomfortable.

"Come on. There's something I need to check." I lead her to Rachel's cave, which Rachel, Percy, and I decorated. I remember that bright October day…

**Yay! Percabeth in this next chapter, I miss them so much! It's one of Annabeth's favorite memories of hanging out with Rachel and Percy. Then, there'll also be up till the part where Rachel almost kills Piper. Please review! I don't set a quota for my stories, but it boosts my confidence for this story. One more thing: I ****might**** be posting a new story, my friend and I wrote it through text together. I'll post more up about it, I think it's almost done, but here are some things: I f and when I post it, do you guys want one long story, or several chapters? It's not super long. Do you want me to even post it? Keep this in mind: ****It is not a story that is valid at all. It is an extremely funny story that will make you this close / to dying from laughter. It is not serious, I will be changing our names in the story, and know now that I will take no crap about how wrong it is from the actual books. That's. The. Point. It's not inappropriate, just a little wrong. It is so funny, I was rolling around on the ground, laughing.**** So, do you want it? I still need to ask my co-author, but I think she'll say yes. Rock on, and please review:) -IzzyPJAC**


	8. A Day With Percy and Ray

**Hey! So, I said I'd do a Percabeth chapter, so here it is. I missed them so much :( It's just a reverie, though. So, I posted a Percy Jackson parody called Percy Jackson and the Golden Pen, if anyone's up for a laugh. So, please F&F, R&R. And read on!**

_"Hey, shouldn't we like, decorate the outside of the cave, Ray?" I asked her, while all three of us were playing Call of Duty Four inside, on her PS3. Flat screen TVs are great for this game! Boom Ba-Boom! Splursh! Rachel took out a couple German soldiers. She shrugged, then looked at Percy, who shrugged too. Of course, they were memorized by a game that you couldn't actually die in. It was kinda cool, watching your avatar die for you. Neither Percy or me had actually died, but Rachel had already gone through a whole legion of soldiers, one dying after the other. I got a really awesome idea. "What about this: we take a bunch of old swords, give Rachel a lesson, then ask Jake to kill the swords, then lay them on the ground?" That caught Rachel's attention, and she paused the game. Percy started complaining about how he was on a roll, and that Rachel's pausing the game would get him killed. "Perce, shut up," I said, kissing his cheek. "It'll be fun! Plus, Apollo will like it!" I didn't know why I suddenly wanted to decorate it so much, but I did. "Oh, well, that's good; you know, cuz Apollo hates me so much," Percy said sarcastically. Rachel shrugged. _

_"You know… I think that is a good idea. There's nothing else to do."_

_A couple hours later, Rachel had drawn out her idea, which did include my creepy idea to put old swords on the ground, making her place look like Godzilla's summer home. She also envisioned velvet curtains, bones, and torches, which Perce and I found pretty awesome. We first went to the arts and crafts building, to swipe some velvet and cement (unfortunately) bones. When we took them back to Rachel's lair, we started hanging up the curtains. They were purple with green snake designs, which seemed liked a blessing from the gods that we found them, and took took little stubs of metal, and pounded them into the rock with Riptide. It was harder than it sounded, but we had a great time._

_"Oh, crap. I forgot the torches. I'll be back in five," Rachel said, and started jogging down the hills. Percy and I sat in the grass, me leaning against his arms. (Funny, now that I remember this, I think I knew that I had limited time with my guy). "Wow… Wise Girl, this is actually fun," Percy said in his teasing voice. I punched him in the arm playfully, before kissing him. Rachel's cave was really starting to come together! Of course, it was my idea, and if it weren't for me, we'd be playing Call of Duty… which actually isn't that bad. Percy took my hand, and kissed me for a long time. _

_Eventually, Rachel came back with two torches, and startled us big time. We jumped apart, making her fall to the ground, laughing. "Ray! That was so rude!" Percy laughed, helping me up. I smiled at him, and Rachel smiled at me. True, Rachel and Percy did like each other, but Rachel was the Oracle, so Percy was all mine. In truth, I thought that she was relieved to give up Percy. "Well… I got the torches. What did you two take care of?"_

_"Each other," I said defiantly. Ray rolled her eyes, and we put up the torches, and lit them. "So, what about the swords?" I asked. Rachel and Percy both rolled their eyes, knowing that I won't shut up about it. "Here, we'll go talk to Bec- I mean, Jake," Percy offered, with a grimace. I dropped his hand in surprise. We all stared at each other, even Rachel, who didn't know Beckendorf. I almost felt me eyes well with tears, even though it had almost been three months since his death. I nodded nonchalantly, with a fake smile on my face. Percy caught my eyes, with a worried look on his face. _

_"So, we'd better go," Rachel said, breaking the awkward silence. I took Percy's hand again, and led my two best friends down the hill. We agreed that the armory would be a good place to start, so we headed there. _

_Jake looked up at us, raising a brow. "Yo, Perce. Annabeth. Oracle." I rolled my eyes at Jake, who stuck his tongue out at me. _

_"Jake, we need like fifteen old broken swords," Rachel said confidently. Jake nodded enthusiastically, picking up a piece of paper from his table._

_"Ah, yes. We just got an order of twenty broken swords. We wanted them, because we thought, Oh, what the Underworld. We might need them for no particular reason," he said, sarcasm dripping from his lips. Rachel laughed, but Percy and I just pressed Jake. "Okay, fine," he looked around the straggly deserted workshop, making sure that no one was listening. "So… you know the dragon, right?" We all nodded. "There's some broken weapons in the back that were destroyed by him. I'm sure no one would miss just a few of them…" Well, that was so easy, I didn't know what to say. _

_We were strategically putting the swords and spears on the ground, when something occurred to me: "Perce, Ray… Why was Jake so nice to us?" Percy cocked his head. _

_"Didn't you know? I thought that you knew everything that goes on at camp!" Percy exclaimed, Rachel nodded. My mouth dropped open._

_"Um, no. I mean, yes! No! Wait," I said, confusing myself, "what? I do know what goes on… but not this!" Rachel shook her head at me pityingly._

_"Aw, poor Anna does-"_

_"Don't call me that!"_

_"N't know!" Rachel said._

_"What?"_

_"Well, you know Christie, from Hecate?" Percy aced me._

_"Yeah. She's thirteen? Really nice, she has auburn hair? Her?" _

_"Yes," Rachel said. "She asked him out last night at the campfire." I smiled. They'd been flirting since August, and were perfect for each other._

_"Okay. That's great!" I giggled._

_That night, Percy and I broke curfew, and went to the beach, because we'd been hanging out so much with Rachel, and wanted alone time. I met him with a blanket and a couple cokes, which were a novelty at camp. "Hey, Perce!" I called when I saw him waiting on the beach. "Sorry I'm late, Maya would not go to bed! She and Mary were talking forever!" I laid the blanket out, and we sat down, facing the waves, which rolled in silently. "It's okay. Hey, today was really fun. Ray's cave looks so much cooler now!"_

_"Yeah, I had a lot of fun. But… still, even if we hadn't done that, Call of Duty is pretty awesome." Percy nodded, and kissed my cheek. "Hey. When do you think that Rachel's prophecy is gonna happen? I was wondering…" I looked up at Percy, and he saw the worry in my eyes. For some reason, I'd been having these strange dreams of the world burning down, or the world bin covered in storms. And… a coin? "Annabeth," Percy said reassuringly, "I promise that the prophecy won't happen soon. It can't. We just did the last one. We can kick back and relax. No more prophecy dreams, 'k?" He leaned in to kiss me, and we stayed that way for a while. See why I liked him so much? He knew my every feeling, and could look into my eyes and see my heart. _

_I was about to break away to say something, but then we heard some laughing. We both jumped apart, and I did a 360. I saw two people holding hands and walking with their backs to us. _

_"Jake and Christie," Percy whispered into my ear. I almost had the nerve to laugh at them, because they were out past curfew. Then I realized something that was important: That was exactly what we were doing! So… yeah. Couldn't really laughing at them. Instead, I glanced at Percy, who was trying not to laugh. I glared at him. "What? They are so unaware that we're here!" he whispered. "It's kinda like on my birthday; we were kissing, and the whole camp was watching! It's kinda fun to get them back, ya know?" I made him be quiet by kissing him, but in the end, we decided to let them be alone. That was one of the best days I ever had in my whole life._

"What's in there?" Piper asks me, snapping me out of my beautiful reverie. I almost say 'what?', but then regain my composure.

"Nothing right now. A friend's place. I've been expecting her for a few days, but so far, nothing." Piper's eyes widen in surprise.

"Your friend lives is a _cave?"_ she says. My mouth muscles twitch for a second, trying to remember how smile.

"Actually, her family has a luxury condo in Queens, and she goes to a finishing school in Connecticut. But when she's here at camp, yeah, she lives in a cave. She's our oracle, tells the future. I was hoping she could help me-"

"Find Percy," Piper guesses. For a second, I have no idea how to respond to that. _Yes, actually, _or _Huh? What d'ya mean? _Instead, for one second, I try to stay strong, but then I decide that Piper is okay, so I let myself do what I want. I totally lose it. Not crying, like on the first day, and like I'll probably cry tonight, but my head spins, and I collapse onto a rock. I try really hard not to let tears go down my face, because I don't want Piper to get scared. She sees me, and has a really guilty look in her eye. I hope she's not judging me now. That. Would. Suck. She seems like such a nice girl, so she looks away, at Half Blood Hill.

I see her pale when she sees Peleus, but who can blame her? "That's-a dragon," she stammers. Then she notices the Golden Fleece. "That's the actual Golden Fleece?" I nod, not really caring. The stupid fleece won't bring my boyfriend back, will it? Piper stares at me, a little concerned. I rub my face, and take a shaky breath. "Sorry. A little tired," I say, realizing how tired I am. I've barely slept at all these past couple days. "You look ready to drop. How long have you been searching for your boyfriend?" Piper says nicely. Great, I think, she's looking at me like I'm younger than her, not like a year older. "Three days, six hours, and about twenty minutes," I say sadly.

"And you've no idea what happened to him?" I shake my head miserably. Then, I go on to explain what happened, minus staying up until midnight, because who knows if she'll tell Chiron? When I'm done, she says, "How long were you together?"

"August," I say immediately. "August eighteenth." Piper smiles.

"Almost exactly when I met Jason! But we've only been together a few weeks." I wince, and think, _I hope she doesn't pull an Annabeth Loses Her Boyfriend Scene._

"Piper…about that. Maybe you should sit down."

**I know, it wasn't that great, just needed another chapter. So, if you've had a rainy day, please check out Percy Jackson and the Golden Pen. Um, please review. And please, go out and write a great story! And totally live like a rockstar! ~IzzyPJAC**


	9. RED, theKiller?

**Hey, everyone! In this chapter, I skip over a couple conversations, just because I have a feeling that most of you can recite them word-for-word. Just saving time:) You'll notice that I do this a lot! R&R, F&F**

"Piper…It's the Mist," I say, looking up from my rock straight into Piper's eyes. No one looked at me in the eye, and honestly told me what had happened to Percy. The feeling is too horrible for me to let it happen to someone else. True, I'm a little jealous of her, just because she at least _has_ her guy here, even if he doesn't know her. Piper looked at me like a deer in the headlights.

"Missed…what?"

"Mi-i-s-t. It's a kind of veil separating the mortal world from the magic world. Mortal minds- they can't process strange stuff like gods and monsters, so the Mist bends reality…" I go on about what the Mist does, and Piper starts to look very frustrated with me. She just can't accept it. Like me. Piper starts to talk about her memories of Jason. "…He was always so nice to me! Him, Leo, and I were best friends for months. But, Jason was special. I knew I liked him since the day we met. I kept trying to hint him- but he's a guy, right? No getting it. Still, we _did _start getting closer, and eventually, I got him to sneak out with me. I showed him a meteor shower, and we were on the roof. I kissed him, and those next few weeks were the absolute best of my life. See, Annabeth? I have more memories, I'll tell you later… but, I want to know… why would you think it's fake? It's _so _real!" Her relationship with Jason sounds so real, like mine with Percy. But I have to do this. Who else will?

"Piper, your memories are sharper than most. I'll admit that, and I don't know why that is. But, if you know him so well-"

"I do!"

"-Then where is he from?" I ask solemnly. Piper's jaw drops.

"He must have told me, but-"

"Did you ever notice his tattoo before? Did he ever tell you _anything_ about his family, or his friends, or his last school?" Right now, honestly, I'd rather enter a beauty contest against the whole Aphrodite cabin, than do this. "I-I don't know, but-"

"Piper, what's his _last name?_" I ask. Everything goes quiet, and the realization dawns on Piper's face. A tear streaks down her cheek, then another, and another. She sits down on my rock next to me, and just sobs. I want to give her hope. "Hey, we'll figure it out. Jason's here now. Who knows? Maybe it'll work out for you guys for real." _And maybe Hera will decide to abduct Jason after you two start dating, so be ready. _Piper wipes her eyes. "You brought me up here so no one would see me blubbering, huh?" she said, looking at the ground.

"I figured it would be hard for you. I know what it's like to lose a boyfriend." I shrug. I help Piper compose her herself, then offer to take her to find a weapon.

Piper stares at the Apollo kids in wonder, as they play their perfect three-point-automatically-in basketball. "Apollo's cabin. Bunch of showoffs with missile weapons-arrows, basketballs." We continue to walk past the cabins, and pass Travis and Connor practicing with swords. "Real blades? Isn't that dangerous?" Piper wonders aloud. "That's sort of the point," I say. Then I realize how stupid that sounded. "Uh, sorry. Bad pun. That's my cabin over there. Number Six." I lead her around my cabin to the shed. "Every demigod needs a weapon," I say. We browse through all the weapons, each one I present to Piper, she shakes her head. Then she notices Katoptris. "What's that? A knife?" she says, eyeing the blade. I take it out for her uneasily.

"I don't know, Piper. I don't thing you want this one. Swords are usually better," I coax.

"You use a knife," Piper pointed out.

"Yeah, but… Well, take a look if you want." She takes the knife out of its old, worn sheath. It has a beautiful polished handle and it's eighteen inches- just a bit longer than mine. I sense that Piper loves it. "It suits you," I admit. I tell her about that type of blade, trying to concentrate on anything- but Percy. Do you think it works? Nada.

"I like it. Why didn't you think it was right?" Piper asks curiously. I sigh.

"The blade has a long long story. Most people would be too afraid to claim it. Its first owner…well, things didn't turn out too well for her. Her name was Helen." Piper's eyes widen.

"Wait, you mean _the _Helen? Helen of Troy?" she asks. _No Helen of Chad. Yes, Helen of Troy. _I nod, deciding against saying my snarky remark.

"And it's just sitting in your toolshed?" Piper asks, her eyebrows raised.

"We're surrounded by Ancient Greek stuff. This isn't a museum. Weapons like that-they're meant to be used. They're our heritage as demigods. That was a wedding present from Menelaus, Helen's first husband. She named the dagger Katoptris."

"Meaning?"

"Mirror. Looking glass. Probably because that's the only thing Helen used it for. I don't think it's ever seen battle."

When my explanation, Piper asks for a phone. I immediately think about Percy, during the battle in New York, and he was talking about cell phones. Then he asked me to kiss him. The next day, we started dating. Four months later, I'm in this mess. Oh, Percy. Where are you? I reluctantly give Piper my phone, and she makes a quick call. No, I am too polite to eavesdrop. But, I do notice that she sounds super angry. Then, I hear the name McLean. Oh, gods, where did I hear that? A few minutes later, when we're walking around the cabins, Piper heads to Hera's cabin. _No negative thoughts about her. Don't think them. Ah, freaking screw her. _"… You don't like her," Piper notes at a comment I made absentmindedly. I decide that maybe I should think about what I say right now, instead of doing my _Let's just say whatever and make my ears and mouth in charge for now _mode. I don't really want to be turned into a peacock at the moment. "We… have a long history," I admit. "I thought we'd made peace, but when Percy disappeared…I got this weird dream vision from her." Piper nodded.

"Telling you to come get us. But, you thought that Percy would be there," she added, slightly guiltily.

"It's probably best I don't talk about it. I've got nothing good to say about Hera right now," I say carefully. No peacocks yet.

"So who goes in here?" Piper asked.

"No one. The cabin is just honorary, like I said. No one goes in."

"Someone does," Piper said, pointing at some footprints that were left in the dusty threshold of Hera's cave. Piper opened the doors, and started walking in.

"Um, Piper, I don't think we should-" I began.

"We're supposed to do dangerous stuff, right?" Piper dared me. I follow her inside, and I feel my insides churning. I really, really want to tear this stupid- oops. I shiver as I walk through the cave in my jean shorts and tee. I can't help but briefly stick my tongue out (behind Piper's back, of course), at the statue portraying ten feet of my _favorite_ goddess. Suddenly, I realize that someone is mumbling- no, chanting, in the back of the room. "Rachel?" I gasp.

"Hey!" Ray jumps up, and tackles me in a hug. "I'm so sorry, I came as fast as I could." She tosses her shaw onto the ground, revealing her normal clothes- marker-doodled jeans, and a green blouse. No shoes. I breathe in, then out. "I-I thought that I had found him. I went to Arizona today, and…" I look at my friend in the eye, and I see how genuinely worried she is. "He wasn't there."

"Hey, hey. It's okay. I can-will help. I have all my cool new oracle powers now. We will find Percy, or else I'm gonna kick whoever took him's butt into next week. It'll hurt." I almost manage a laugh, but even that's hard. "Thanks. I'm sorry I stole you from your family during Christmas time," I say, slightly unhelpfully. Rachel rolls her large green Percy eyes at me.

"Pa-lease. Annabeth, let's weigh these two factors together," she says, holding out each hand. "RIght one's Percy missing. Left is my parents." She pulls her right hand down. "Percy wins by a freaking landslide." This makes me give a light chuckle. I really miss the days when it was me, Perce, and Rachel hanging out, after the Titan war. They'd have me laughing so hard, I was on the floor, holding my stomach. I tell her about the failed trip to Arizona and how- wait. Maybe not so useless. "I'm being rude. Rachel, this is Piper, one of the half-bloods we rescued today. Piper, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare, our oracle."

"The one that lives in a cave," Piper says.

"That's me," Rachel smirks. She goes on to explain to Piper how she fits into the camp, creeping Piper out.

"You're a demigod?" Piper asks.

"Nope," Rachel says, popping the p. "Just a mortal."

"Then why are you…" Piper gestured around the room.

"Just a hunch. Something about this cabin and Percy's disappearance. They're connected somehow. I've learned to follow my hunches, especially the last month, since the gods went silent."

"Went silent?" Piper glances at me uncertainly. I'd completely forgotten myself, I _have _been busy with my love life, after all. I quickly explain to Piper how the gods stopped communicating with us, and how everyone, even I, the architect of Olympus, was blocked out of Olympus. How Mr.D was recalled (Thank the gods). Then Piper and I tell Rachel about Jason and Leo, skirting around Jason being Piper's thought-to-be boyfriend. And, finally, how my new _best _friend came to me in a dream, as the first communication between us and the gods.

After we are all done explaining, Piper looks at me and Rachel for a second, before saying, "Guys, I-I need to-" Rachel interrupted Piper by stiffening, her eyes glowing green, and grabbing Piper's shoulders. _Free me, _she said in a non-oracle voice, which was strange. It sounded much older. _Free me, Piper McLean, or the earth shall swallow us. It must be by the solstice. _I try to yank Piper away from Rachel, but her grip is too strong. _Our enemies stir. The fiery one is only the first. Bow to his will, and their king shall rise, dooming us all. FREE ME! _Piper pales, her knees buckle, and she faints, leaving me in shock, and Rachel confused. "What just _happened_?" She asks, as I struggle to pick Piper up.

**Next chapter will be Annabeth and Jason, then the next, the trio leaving, and Annabeth setting off on her quest. I. Need. Help. Please, can anyone give me ideas as to where Annabeth should go? I mean, I have a few ideas, but really, I need help with that. It's not that hard to come up with a few ideas, and send them, right? I mean, over a thousand views, I think just MAYBE someone can help:) Rock on, IzzyPJAC**


	10. The Fantastic Mr Fox

**A/N: OK, call me (maybe;) lazy, but I really want Annabeth to get on her actual quest… so I'm starting this back up on the morning of December 18 (which, coincidentally, is my friend's brother's birthday), the second day that Piper, Jason and Leo were at CHB. It's a bit of a short chapter, sorry! But please, enjoy:)**

The next, morning, I wake up much earlier than the rest of my cabin, so I pack for my trip. I plan to visit Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea, not only who claims to know everything, but has met Percy. Percy told me about him, and how he was pretty much Santa's evil twin brother. I pull out my travel pack, and carelessly stuff several camp shirts, jeans, shoes, and toiletries in. I dress for travel, throw my hair in a ponytail, and leave my cabin. The frosty air bites at my cheeks, but I ignore it as I make a beeline for Zeus's cabin- Cabin 1. I have a few things to tell Jason, whoever he may be. I silently enter the cabin without knocking, in a rush. He has his back turned to me, looking at some of Thalia's photos that she left. "That's Thalia," I say quietly, making him jump. I walk over to him, and explain who Thalia is.

"Don't suppose you changed your mind about coming with us?" Jason asks hopefully. Like I did. I shake my head.

"You got a good team already. I'm off to look for Percy." He looks at me, real disappointed, but I honestly think that he'll do really well. And… maybe, just maybe, he's been on quests before this one. I tell him that. **A/N: Again, we will speed up time to when the dragon comes back. I f you need a refresher on what happened, basically Annabeth told Jason where to go, and about Thalia. Capiche? **

We spend more time talking, and I give him advice on where to go, what to do, and how to. Suddenly, Jason surprises me (yes, apparently that's still possible for me), with something me says.

"You have to swear you won't tell anyone. " Whoa, dude.

"Jason-"

"Swear it," he urges me. "Until I figure out what's going on, what all this means- you have to keep it a secret." Um… okay. Creepy? Yes. Tempting? Even more so.

"All right. Until you tell me it's okay, I won't share what you say with anybody else. I swear it on the River Styx," _and all that crap, _I think. Jason looks around, before saying anything. He picks up the picture of Thalia. "My last name is Grace. This is my sister." The blood drains out of my face as I realize the importance of this. _Is he lying? Why? This. Is. Impossible. Thalia never, ever, said anything about a younger brother. Does she not know about him? Or is he lying? _Jason looks at me apprehensively, and suddenly, the doors to the cabin burst open, and half a dozen campers spill in. "Hurry! The dragon is back!"

* * *

The cold morning air bites my face as I fly through the sky on Blackjack's back. We travel west as fast as we can, which is pretty fast, but I know that Blackjack has been working his butt off, and won't be able to take me past Utah. We can't go into the super-fast mode, so I'll take a train or something once he gets to the breaking point. Which, by the way, was probably a couple states back. Poor pegasus. After Jason, Piper, and Leo left camp, in their fancy dragon, I took off on Blackjack, who (thank the gods) answered my call. Whistle. Whatever. As we fly through the air, I remember all those times Percy and I raced on pegasi. All the times I sat behind him on this pegasus. _Oh, Percy, I miss you so much. Please come back to me, _I think, absentmindedly wiping my eyes. Because of the air, of course. There are no disturbances for about an hour, but I know that Blackjack is tiring- and fast. "Hey, Blackjack," I say softly. "Land in that field over there." I point out an open field in the middle of nowhere, about half a mile ahead of us. I figure we're somewhere in Kansas, so about halfway. Yay…

Once we land, I immediately give Blackjack two carrots, and a few sugar cubes. I take out my lunch bag, and eat a bag of blueberries for Percy. It seems so weird, not having him around. Even when we weren't dating, during the school year, I felt incomplete without my best friend. Now… this is ridiculous. It hits me that this is how Percy felt when I was missing at Christmas time a few years ago. But now we're not just friends. Still, my world is so dull without him. I walk through field, my ADHD hands messing with the straw. I almost laugh when an ironic thought hits me. _This is what the main character in Gladiator was doing, right before the battle… Wait- NO! Way to jinx yourself, Annabeth, thinking like that. _Because we all know that when you think about how peaceful something is, then suddenly about fighting, a monster _has _to sneak up on me.

I first hear a rustle in the wind, then a couple footsteps, slyly approaching us. Blackjack whinnies fearfully from almost a quarter mile away, and this is when I turn. I see a huge shadow, and Blackjack rearing up. I can't tell what the monster is yet, but it's scaring the crap out of my boyfriend's horse. "No! Blackjack- no! Stay, boy!" my words have no affect on him, as I watch him leap into the sky. _Great, _I think. _Just lost my ride._ I pull my knife, and start sprinting towards the quickly approaching beast. As I near it, I realize what it is, and the blood drains from my face. A Teumessian fox.

I remember it, because I spent a whole afternoon a couple summers ago trying to make Percy remember what it is. The huge fox was about five feet tall, and eight feet long. Its perfect white teeth are huge, and sharp as knives. It has smooth reddish brownish fur, and get this- its destiny is to never get caught. It was sent by the gods. Just. Great. I make the split second decision to stay and fight, instead of hightail out of there, and into the forest, which was probably just about as safe as fighting it. Its cruel eyes regard me and my lovely knife.

I think about all that I know about this beast, which isn't very much. I know that in the ancient times, it was sent by Dionysus to hunt down the children of Thebes, as a punishment for a crime they committed. It was destined to not be taken down, so when the magic dog, Laelaps, whose destiny was to always catch its prey, was sent to kill The Fantastic Mr. Fox, the gods faced a challenge. They decided to send them both to the stars, but hey, anything to bother/piss off/kill a demigod, right? Even if it means taking it out of the stars. Great little history lesson for ya. And this, folks, is why I _really_ would rather not fight this guy. Being sent to the stars, just because I'm too awesome for this fox, will not help find Percy.

The fox growls evilly at me, and charges.

**Yay for cliffhangers! Okay, so for those of you who haven't, please check out Percy Jackson and the Golden Pen, Percy Jackson Reads His Myth (warriorprincess100), and in the next week, I'll have a new story up: Lost Stories From A Demigod's Past. It's a bunch of chapter long stories about various demigods' childhoods before camp (Both CJ and CHB). Rock on~ IzzyPJAC**


	11. The Daughter of Hecate

**Hi, people of FanFiction! I'm sorry, I haven't posted in a while... but I have three other stories in progress, so... yeah. This chapter may be a bit confusing, so PM/Review me if you have any Q's. Um... Enjoy, as always (I hope). **

Of course, I have a couple choices. Fight, like an idiot, or run, also like an idiot. I don't know what to do, so think, _What would Percy do? _He would definitely fight. There isn't really any question. He would want to protect everyone around him, and I would be fighting next to him. But now… Percy is the one who gives me strength when I need it. I shake my head into focus, and lift my knife to my waist, ready. I roll out of the fox's charge. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), this is not the minotaur. It's a stupid fox. It turns around, and pounces. I can't help it- I scream. The fox sails over me, and I tuck into a ball on the ground. I jump up as it lands, and leap towards it. The fox growls even more at the sight of my knife. "Oh, you don't like it, do you?" I tease under my breath, not daring to say it aloud.

My new best friend decides to hoist itself up on its hind legs. Of course, as foxes aren't supposed to be doing that, it falls- onto me. Wonderful. I yelp as it takes its huge paw and puts it on my face. It practically scratches me everywhere- my cheeks, my forehead, eyes, nose, even neck. My face explodes in pain, as I shove the thing off me. It tries to tackle me, but I realize I had the power to do something it can't- I can go invisible. I yank my cap out of my back pocket, and shave it on my head. It looks confused when it can't see me, but quickly recovers from its sense of smell. I kick it as hard as I can, and it falls onto its side. Before it jumps back up, I shove my knife into its stomach, and it falls backward into a pile of brown-red sand. I feel face, and almost burst into tears. "How much ambrosia is gonna take to fix this?" I whisper, running all the way back to where my back pack was left. I almost collapse in the effort, but I eventually reach it, and pull it open. I take out a Ziplock of Ambrosia, expecting the usual buttered popcorn, but it's way different. It tastes like salt. Just salt. I almost gag, but then, I realize this isn't any salt; it's the salt I taste whenever I kiss Percy. A special kind of salt that makes me happy and brave. I feel a happy tear make its way down my cheek, as my face wounds close up.

Just as I finish the Ambrosia, even though my injuries are getting better, I almost break down. I want more Ambrosia _so _much. Just to taste his lips again… almost worth getting myself hurt. **(A/N: AH! No! I'm starting to sound like Bella when she was doing all that crap, hoping to see Edward! NO!) **Almost. As much as I want him, Percy would be mad if I got hurt, just to take Ambrosia. Gods, my life is screwed. Using all of my will, I put the baggie away, and stand up. I whistle, really loudly. Nothing, but that's not surprising. "Blackjack!" I call, hopelessly. He didn't come. "δεκάρα," I curse at the horse. I pull out my compass, and check which way's west. I shoulder my bag, and walk. Very productive. After a couple of miles on silence, I get horribly bored. This i my first quest without Percy. Ever. I can't believe it. And not only am I without Percy, but there's no one around. A monster could tackle me, and no one would know where I was. So I take out my laptop, and click the iTouch mode. It condenses into an iPod Touch, and I start playing music with one earbud in. I can't risk getting stalked by a monster, but not hearing it, just because I was bored. Around what I guess is noon I pull out a PB&J and a cherry coke. "To the gods," I whisper miserably, taking out a lighter. I take off a corner of my sandwich, and burn it. I don't usually do this on quests, but anything to help me get Percy back, right? There was no feeling from my mother, though. I didn't suddenly feel alert or anything. I think that it didn't work, but suddenly, my coke turns a violent shade of blue. I can't help it. I start laughing, really laughing. I haven't really laughed since that night only four days ago, when the naiads pulled Percy and I into the lake. It feels… good. I felt like in the past couple days, I didn't _want_ to be happy. That would be betraying Percy… right? How could I be happy when my other half is gone? I can't. Not now, at least. Of course, this dampens my mood. My sudden change in mood makes me mad and sad (because for a second, I felt like Percy was with me). And to top it all off, it starts pouring. "Holy Zeus!" I shout, disrespectfully. I pause for a second, waiting to be turned into an eagle, but nothing happens. Duh. Olympus is closed.

Eventually, I come across a road, but no one is driving on it. I decide that it must come across some sort of civilization, so I follow it. I'm right. Eventually, I come across a farm. _Okay, Annabeth… two options. Ignore it or ask for directions. _I hear my stomach growl, and I decide that maybe if some nice old couple (monster or not) saw a young girl ring their doorbell- wait. I'm wrong. _Young girl? More like 'young' sixteen year old teenager. _ Still. They might be nice. I find their house, and ring the doorbell. Don't get me wrong, I don't trust whatever's behind that door, but it might be good. Plus, all it is is directions to the nearest train station. After about thirty seconds, a middle aged man answers the door. For a second, he glares at me with recognition, but then his face changes to fake (but I can tell he's trying to look really confused) confusion. He calls, "Liza! I think one-a you're cousins are he-uh'." Whoa, his accent. Worse than Dorothy's.

A kind looking lady holding a baby (which is the best sign pointing towards me trusting them), comes to the door. For a second, her eyes go wide with recognition, but then she looks at the man I assume is her husband, and makes her face unreadable. "Oh. Okay. Um… _are _you one-a my cousins?" she smiles at me, acting like she had no idea who I was. I shake my head. "No, ma'am. I wanted to ask for directions to the nearest train station. See, I was driving through the country with some of my friends… but I lost them. I was in my car alone, and there was an accident on the street. I was behind it, but my friends were ahead and didn't notice. I didn't have any bars, so I couldn't text them," I lie. The couple looks at me, still a little disbelieving. The husband shakes his head in confusion, and leaves muttering something about 'feeding the cows.' "Where is ya car?" Liza asks. I smile apologetically.

"It broke down, and it got towed. But the thing is, my, ah, mother doesn't think it's wise for a dem- teenage girl to be alone in the middle of… nowhere. So, all I need is the directions, and I'm good," I lie. _Whoa. Smooth. Dem- teenage girl? Seriously?_ I reprimand myself. Luckily, the pair of adults nod at me. "Well, then, we'd better get you to the station, if you gonna catch up with you're friends. How many people are with you?" the mom asks me. _Monster!_ My mind is screaming at me. I hesitate.

"Three. My boyfriend, and two girlfriends."

"That's great! Friends are great. I'm so sorry! I'm being rude. I'm Liza and this is baby Marie," Liza smiles at the baby. I almost start to trust her. She reminds me of someone… can't think of who. Just so understanding and smiley- oh. Duh. Sally. Suddenly, a small girl runs in holding a box of crayons. She eyes me defiantly, like she hates me just because she can.

"Mama, what is this stranger doing in our house?" she pouts. Liza looks vaguely embarrassed.

"Jemima, she's a lost… girl. That's it. Now, go play with Sunny," she tells her daughter. Jemima rolls her eyes (like any six-year-old would), and leaves the room.

We are looking at a map, when I hear footsteps behind me. I look up and find myself face to face with an elderly woman holding a chihuahua. I suck in my breath. I know her. Liza said something about Jemima playing with Sunny… no. _Sonny._ "I'd better be going. I'm so sorry to be wasting your weekend. Really," I say with a forced smile. Suddenly, I feel the temperature drop like twenty degrees. I have to leave. _How could I have been so _stupid _as to trust them?! _I think. Then I notice something weird. Liza's eyes are wide, and she looks scared. Not so much like a monster. "Of course. But first, Annabeth, a word in the kitchen?" she asks. I shake my head.

"Go on," Echidna says.

"No. I've got to go."

"Please. I'll pack you a snack," Liza says desperately. She looks at me from behind Echidna. She stares at me, then Echidna, then the Chimera. I break down.

"Okay." Liza sighs gladly. She lays Marie down in one of those baby seats with wheels and little play buttons.

"Stay here, Granny," Liza says sharply. "We'll be back in a minute." 'Granny' grunts, her eyes following me. Strangely, instead of the kitchen, Liza takes me down the hallway, and down a flight of stairs into a cellar. If my guard was up before, it must be broken by now.

"Annabeth. I'm so sorry," Liza shakes her head in exasperation. "I know who you are. A daughter of Athena." My jaw plummets.

"How did you-"

"Sh," she hisses. "Be quiet, or else she'll hear you. I'm a daughter of Hecate. I… didn't take part in the war. I couldn't. A couple months before it, Echidna and two people I'd never even seen in my life, Jim and Jemima arrived at my house. See, I'd just lost my husband in an accident, and I had a three months old baby. I was mentally broken. Basically, they just… butted in. They told me who they were, and that they were waiting for a teenage demigod. They put me under a curse so that I'd follow them. After a month or two, I realized what was happening. I didn't say anything, I was too afraid. They still think I'm under their spell. But please. I want to help." My eyes almost pop out of my head.

"Wow. That's a… lot. So, lemme get this straight: You and baby Marie were just living here alone, like up until July this year?" Liza nods patiently. "Okay, so then… Echidna brought Jim and Jemima, and put you under a curse, to make you think that they were your family? But you're a… daughter of Hecate. Does Echidna know that?" Liza shakes her head.

"I don't think so. The gods are up to something, Annabeth, and you have to find out why. So why are you really here?" Liza inquires. I decide to trust her.

"My boyfriend-"

"Pierce?"

"-No. I lied about my friends' names, and we're not on a road trip. Sorry." I smile apologetically. Liza waves her hand dismissively. "Anyway, Percy. That's his name. We were at Camp Half Blood… and he disappeared a couple nights ago. He kissed me goodnight, walked away, and…" I take shaky breath. "I haven't seen him since." Liza looks at me sadly, and I remember that her _real _husband died recently. Wonder how _that_ feels. No, wait, I don't wonder. I don't really want to know. Liza's eyes go real sad. "Annabeth, I'm so sorry. So, you're looking for him?" I nod. "then we'd better get you away from here as soon as possible. As a demigod, I have built several escape-" There is a creaking from upstairs, right above us. "Sonny wants to play with you, _Chase," _a creepy little girl's voice says. Liza's eyes narrow. "They're ready for us. Annabeth, you have to trust me."

"But I-"

"Just _do_. Please. Now, do you have your invisibility cap? Don't put it on, but keep it handy, and follow me upstairs. I will say things to make them think I'm with them. Just ignore them, and I promise, you will find Percy Jackson. _Don't make a noise, and follow my lead._" I nod and take out the cap on reluctantly. Liza leads me up the stairs, and says, "Sonny, I have a treat for you."

**Good? Bad? In between? PM/Review me if you want anything specific in this story, and please F&F, R&R! Thanks for all the support! Rock on, rockstars! ~IzzyPJAC (Who else?)**


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